BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A lawsuit challenging claims by tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds that its Eclipse cigarette is healthier to smoke than the average cigarette can go forward, a Vermont judge has ruled, according to a report by The Burlington Free Press. Chittenden Superior Court Judge Dennis Pearson, in an 18-page ruling, denied RJR's request to dismiss outright the case filed by the Vermont Attorney General's Office on behalf of Vermont and 35 other states.
"The state is generally entitled to present its case on the evidence...with regard to the existence (or not) of reasonable substantiation [image-nocss] supporting R.J Reynolds's health claims regarding Eclipse," Pearson wrote in his August 19 decision.
Pearson also rejected all but one of nine other pretrial motions filed by RJR regarding what evidence and witnesses could be used at the trial, scheduled to begin October 5.
Julie Brill, an assistant attorney general, said she was pleased with Pearson's decision.
"We won almost everything we asked for," she told the newspaper. "The judge had a lot of complex issues to grapple with and was able to do so in a time frame that allows this case to go forward in October." The trial is expected to last a month, she added.
RJR has touted Eclipse's safety qualities in advertisements that include claims that the cigarette "may produce less risk of cancer." The cigarette, developed in the 1990s, is different in that it warms instead of burns glycerol-impregnated tobacco through a carbon element in the cigarette's filter.
David Howard, a spokesperson with RJR's parent company, Reynolds American Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C., told the Free Press that the company was disappointed with Pearson's ruling, but is ready to make the case for Eclipse when the trial gets under way. "We believe the claims we have made about Eclipse are backed up by credible, scientific information," he said. He declined further comment, citing the status of the pending litigation.
The state Attorney General's Office, acting as lead counsel for the 36 states, contends the scientific evidence cited by RJR is not solid enough to back up the product's advertising claims, said the report.
Brill said the case is being watched nationally because Eclipse represents the kind of product the tobacco industry hopes to make a centerpiece of its future sales. "This is an area the industry wants to move into in the future," she said. "The question is under what conditions can it do that.... This case is novel because no one has ever said how much scientific evidence is needed to prove a reduced risk to human health."
The states suing RJR are not seeking financial damages, the report said. Instead, Vermont is asking for an injunction to put a stop to the advertising claims.
Eclipse is being sold in selected markets around the country, Howard said. According to one court document, only 410 cartons of Eclipse cigarettes were sold in Vermont between 2000 and 2006. None was sold in the state last year.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.